Why was there no Republican candidate for Queens borough president present at "Candidates in Queens beep race meet in Bayside" (Andrew Shilling - April 4)?

Will either former GOP council members Mike Abel, Anthony Stabile, Tom Ognibene, Anthony Como and Dennis Gallagher, Assemblyman Doug Prescott, state senators Frank Padavan and Serf Maltese, or Congressman Bob Turner entertain a political comeback?

Don't bet on it for any of them.

With the exception of Turner, all of their times in the sun have come and gone. They collectively remain an asterisk in the political shadows and history of yesteryear.

The absence of a real GOP borough president candidate who is more than just a placeholder on the ballot could influence the political survival for the last Queens Republican elected official - Councilman Eric Ulrich. (Queens' other GOP councilman, Dan Halloran, is toast given his recent scandal.)

Any local GOP City Council candidate in 2013 will need strong political coattails provided by real running mates above them on the ballot for mayor, comptroller, public advocate, and borough president.

There are no serious GOP candidates to date who have declared and started raising money for any of these four offices, with the one lone exception of mayor.

The year 2013 could be the political equivalent of Custer's Last Stand. Halloran and Ulrich enter the battle of Little Big Horn as the last remaining Queens Republican public elected officials, and only Eric Ulrich looks to stay alive for one last term.